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PETALING JAYA: Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz says Malaysia’s debt levels will rise as it embarks on measures to help businesses and citizens deal with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.
In an interview with CNBC yesterday, Tengku Zafrul said that the fiscal deficit will be around 5.8% to 6%.
So far, he said, fiscal injections into the economy represent about 20% of the country’s GDP.
“We are still focused on fiscal responsibility, of course. Now we have a debt / GDP ratio at around 53%, it will end at around 56%. We have the approval of Parliament to go up to 60%, ”he said on CNBC’s Asia Squawk Box.
Tengku Zafrul said the government is “optimistic” that the economy will expand 5.5% to 8% next year, from negative growth this year. By 2020, GDP is expected to be between -5.5% and -3.5%.
To date, Malaysia has implemented around RM305 billion in stimulus packages to revive the economy.
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